Students with Mental Health Challenges

This section continues the information from the 21 Days to Holistic Student Support designed by the I-HOPE Welty Gran Team (see the first page in this section for more details). 

DID YOU KNOW?: Psychiatric disabilities make up the second largest population of DSS students served at SCC - second only to Learning Disabilities - and this population continues to grow at colleges across the nation.

SCC's Disability Support Services surveyed students to find out: "What do you want teachers to know about students living with anxiety?" Here are some of the students' responses:

  • “It's not a joke; we're not trying to game the system. We don't like to experience anxiety, and if we could, we'd make it go away. … A little patience and understanding and empathy and respect on your side can go a long way.”
  • "To be patient, and see if there are different ways to test if they have test anxiety."
  • “[It] can get worse with each experience of it.”
  • “It is unpredictable. Something that sounds easy can become impossible. That can be embarrassing.”
  • “Try not to assume.”

Watch this video to hear more about Things Students with Anxiety Wish Their Teachers Understood  Links to an external site.

SCC Resources:

  • Mental health counseling is available to all SCC students for free through the Student Health Clinic. Services are provided by graduate-level interns from Gonzaga and Whitworth. They practice under the supervision of SCC Counselor Carmen Green. Currently, services are available either in-person in our Student Health Clinic or via telehealth. Students can schedule an intake appointment as well as review who our current providers are by clicking here Links to an external site.. Our counselors are also able to provide short-term mental health support and crisis intervention services. If you have a student in crisis, please help them connect with our SCC Counseling Center for immediate support.
  • SEER Links to an external site. (Supported Education and Employment Enhancing Rehabilitation) provides support that helps individuals facing behavioral health challenges prepare for, gain access to, and sustain participation in post-secondary education and vocational opportunities. SEER offers specially-focused courses each quarter and also provides group and some individual support. Students need not have an official diagnosis to participate. There is no cost to students to access the SEER program.
  • Additionally, all our students have free access to physical and mental health services through the Community Colleges of Spokane (CCS) Student Health Clinic. Encourage students to utilize the only on-campus college health clinic on the east side of the state right here at SCC. The Student Health Clinic Links to an external site. is open 9:30 am – 2:00 pm, Monday-Friday throughout the academic year (Building 7, Room 118). 

 For additional information on this topic:

 

** Please remember that if you're ever unsure of where to turn for support for a struggling student, the Early Alert team on campus is also available to help. The Early Alert team is made up of staff from student services departments across the campus. Faculty can submit online Early Alert Referrals Links to an external site. for student concerns ranging from class participation/attendance, assignment completion, mental health services, food and/or housing insecurity, and more. Once you submit a referral, a member of the team will reach out to the student within about 24 hours to check in on them and provide options for interventions or services. The team encourages you to "refer early and support often!"